There are too many leaders anointed because they have a public voice - television, radio, or record, or whatever. That even includes myself. In the past, I'd say, 'Don't anoint me when you can anoint yourself.'

Never try to make the same record twice, even when people are screaming for the same sound.

Minds are the real estate of the 21st century.

There's nothing worse than a good video and good song, and you see a band and hate them because they can't perform. That's wack.

You should be a person inside the world with knowledge of your terrain. And if you lock yourself into the 2,000-by-3,000-square-mile, lower-48 box of the United States, you're going to be frustrated by its limitations. You gotta think outside the box.

The minute I get swelled up about something, something has always brought me back down to earth.

A visit to the hood through a record, or through a video, or through a film, is a lot safer than actually visiting the people in real life. It became a business model. It became a revenue engine that, you know, you can get to the hood without ever going there.